Unethical...*

Alzheimer Patient.

NYS attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking to stop a pharmaceutical company from forcing patients with Alzheimer’s to switch to a new version of a widely used drug. The lawsuit contends that the switch is designed to blunt competition from low-priced generic versions of the medication.

Forest Lab announced that it would stop selling the existing tablet form of the drug, Namenda, in favor of new extended-release capsules called Namenda XR that can be taken once a day instead of twice.

While the company said that patients preferred the newer drug, it has made little secret of its desire to switch all patients to the newer form, which has a longer patent life, before the old tablets face generic competition. The strategy would make it much harder for the generics to gain traction.

The step taken by Forest Lab. is intended to maintain its monopoly even after its patent expires.

“A drug company manipulating vulnerable patients and forcing physicians to alter treatment plans unnecessarily, simply to protect corporate profits, is unethical and illegal,” the attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, said in a statement.

Remedies is very easy. Since the company abandoned their patent drug, the Generic should jump right into production before the patent expires. In addition, Walmart and the likes should be allowed to import the item from other Countries since US patients are left out in the dark.  Way to go AG.

Just a thought.